I am a recently hired intern at MAKE and I work in MAKE Labs. My first build was this “Audiobook,” one of the projects for an upcoming issue of MAKE. It turned out to be fun to build and a good introductory project for me. The build wasn’t too difficult and the end result turned out really cool. In the process, I learned a lot about building circuits, soldering, and the basic knowledge of how a device like this works.

The Audiobook is a plug-in speaker system that’s disguised as a stack of old hardback books. This device can plug into an iPod, MP3 player, laptop, or any other audio source with a 3.5mm jack. The Audiobook completely conceals the player and the speaker within it, leaving power as the single visible cable.

The hardest part of the project was making the small soldering joints on the circuit board. A fine soldering tip made this job much easier.

This project is great for anyone who’s just learned soldering and wanting to have something cool at the end of their training. Or if you’d like to do a project with a kid interested in electronics, this would be a fun and unusual build. Look for the project in Volume 34 of MAKE and build one for yourself!

Since this project was finished, I’ve also worked on a bamboo hors d’oeuvre serving tray and a coffee can robot. I’m looking forward to seeing what the MAKE staff has up their sleeves for my next builds.

Nick Parks is an engineering intern at MAKE, and he’s studying mechanical engineering at Santa Rosa Junior College. He likes to build and take apart things to make products better or create something new. He enjoys working at MAKE and likes to help other people build projects of their own.

http://gravatar.com/whittwhitton whittwhitton

Why would this post be categorized under ‘iPhone’?

Balloondoggle

Because it is a magical gateway to many clicks. Or, since there’s an Apple product in the picture, they are forced to link like that to head off the Apple lawyers.

balloondoggle

When I grow up, I want to be an intern at Make. You guys get to build all the stuff I don’t have time/resources/imagination to do.

http://twitter.com/FanOfAnna FanOfAnna (@FanOfAnna)

What an artful and inspiring idea for the book-lover who not only loves the way book look and feel, bur sound, as well.
Keep up the good work,Gareth…it would be interesting to see more projects like this from your lab!

http://twitter.com/FanOfAnna FanOfAnna (@FanOfAnna)

Correction: Kudos to Nick.
The project was posted by Gareth.
I apologize for the error.